Amazon Strikes Two Book-Pricing Deals

Facing the specter of Apple’s (AAPL) iPad launch, Amazon.com (AMZN) has agreed to halt heavy discounting of e-book best-sellers in new pricing deals with two major publishers.

The e-book agreements, with CBS Corp.’s (CBS) Simon & Schuster and News Corp.’s (NWS) HarperCollins Publishers, mirror deals struck earlier this year with Apple for the iPad. Under what’s called the agency pricing model, some new best sellers will be priced at $9.99 but most will be priced at $12.99 to $14.99.

The new deals ensure that Amazon will have the same array of titles that rival Apple will offer on its digital bookstore. Apple has forged deals with five of the six major publishers to provide titles on the iPad, which is expected to pose competition for Amazon’s popular Kindle e-reader.

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